The Sherlockology Review of 2014
* 31 December 2014

Could there be a better way to start the year if you're a
Sherlock fan?

Blasting into 2014 with gusto, the third series of our favourite
BBC series at last promised to answer the question that had been
plaguing us for two years… just how did Sherlock survive that
rather steep drop off the roof of St Bart's Hospital? In many ways
we were given the perfect solution in The Empty Hearse, one that could be feasible
after some intentionally OTT misdirection, but also one that ended
up laced with ambiguity - so much so that Steven Moffat and Mark
Gatiss had to shift in interviews from maintaining that questioning
stance to categorically stating that the final airbag assisted
conclusion was the only possible way to do it.

But it didn't end there. In the space of a mere twelve days, the
third series of Sherlock had already been and gone, with the warm
fizzy complexity of The Sign of Three and the literally heart
stopping thrills of His Last Vow rounding out what we had waited so
long for - and then, at the end, another conclusion to leave us all
on tenterhooks for the foreseeable future with the apparent return
of Jim Moriarty!

January also saw the debut of something else that had been long
awaited by fans - Sherlock: The Network, an interactive game app
for iOS (and later Android) that allowed players to solve crimes
under the watchful eye of Sherlock Holmes, while interacting with
John Watson and Mycroft Holmes, all in specially recorded video
featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman and Mark Gatiss.

From then on, the year took a turn to the quiet. In February, Sherlocked: The Convention was announced to be
taking place later in 2014. The first official convention for the
series, featuring the attendance of the cast and crew, the
convention ultimately fell victim to the very nature of the series
itself - the availability of those cast and crew. At the time of
writing, Sherlocked remains without a solid date. In March came the
news that Undershaw, the famous former home of Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, had been saved from unsympathetic redevelopment
works and would be converted into a school - but again, the
building currently finds itself caught in the same situation it
started in, with conservation groups objecting to the school
proposals. March also saw one of the most popular photos of the
year posted at the Oscars - no, not that amazing selfie from Ellen
DeGeneres, but Benedict Cumberbatch photobombing U2 on the red
carpet!

By the time April rolled around, the cast of Sherlock had been
busy with other projects, and it was time to see the results.
Martin Freeman made a blazing debut on April 15th in the FX
limited series Fargo, spinning off from the classic Coen
Brothers film. This was the first of two roles this year where
Martin seemed to deliberately work away from the warm image we hold
him in in Sherlock or The Hobbit trilogy. As Lester Nygard, an
emasculated, then empowered, and eventually utterly amoral
individual, we rooted for him and then completely abandoned him in
our sympathies - an astonishing turn of events for a viewer.

Also hitting the stage again was Andrew Scott. His
performance in Birdland, as a fracturing rock star struggling
was hedonistic excess, was another turn where all who saw it found
their affinity wavering. Richly metaphorical, particularly in its
staging, Birdland was another triumph for Andrew.

Aside from the conclusion of Fargo in June, there seemed to be a
true lull by the middle of the year - but that in turn was a bit
misleading. When July rolled around, it brought with the news of the return of Sherlock in not just a fourth series,
but also a one-off special. With the special filming first, in
January 2015, and the series itself shooting later next year, the
time to start eagerly anticipating more adventures once again began
to kick into high gear.

First though came the second of Martin Freeman's type-defying
roles, this time on stage. As William
Shakespeare's Richard III at Trafalgar Studios, Martin cut a
ferocious yet slyly homicidal figure. Bearded and limping, this
Richard was still a world away from the traditional historical
figure we are accustomed to, transplanted instead to a dystopic
vision of late 1970s Britain where he cut a swath through his
opponents. In his greatest moment, Freeman subverted Richard's most
famous line of furious frustration and instead turned it into
desperate yet ironic comedy. The tragedy of the play though was
that it was never recorded.

In August, Sherlock won big in the TV movie / miniseries
categories at the Emmy Awards for S3E3 His Last Vow, taking
home both best actor and best supporting actor for Benedict
Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, but also best writer for Steven
Moffat, at last gaining the show some welcome recognition among
wider audiences in the USA. August also saw the Ice Bucket
challenge sweep the globe, and members of the Sherlock cast and
crew got involved. Benedict Cumberbatch was among the most
nominated celebrities anywhere, having first been called out by Tom
Hiddleston - so when he was able to deliver his Ice Bucket
Challenge, it was certainly worth it. It has to be said, we
also got very kindly nominated, and accepted the challenge with great
enthusiasm - and kudos remains everlasting to Sherlock's
production designer Arwel Jones for accepting our nomination of
him!

The following month, the
brilliant Pride made its wide release in cinemas on both sides
of the Atlantic. Featuring Andrew Scott among a vast ensemble cast,
this true story of burgeoning gay rights among the miner's strike
of the early 1980s was a classically British tale that had a wide
appeal, and was easily one of the best films released in 2014.

The end of 2014 was basically anything but quiet. We made a trip
to Newcastle for ScreamCon on November 1, where we found ourselves
in the unexpected position of being asked to interview Louise Brealey on stage! Having
survived that first surprise, the events of the rest of the month
continued to bring them - not least with the announcement of
Benedict's engagement to Sophie Hunter, placed with good old
fashioned stealth in the back pages of The Times. The traditional
approach caught many off guard, not least The Times itself, who
were utterly unaware of the exclusive hidden in their pages that
morning!

The final surprise of the month was the secret read through for
the Sherlock special on November 25, announced only after it had
begun, and unusually way in advance of the start of filming for the
episode - another sign perhaps of the packed schedules of all
concerned.

November also saw a couple of other significant releases - The Imitation Game, with Benedict Cumberbatch
in blistering, awards worthy form as mathematician and undisputable
World War II hero Alan Turing, and on bookshelves was Sherlock: Chronicles, a brilliant look behind
the scenes of the BBC series.

The year closed out in blockbuster fashion for the Sherlock
cast, with the news on December 4 of Andrew Scott joining the cast
of the 24th James Bond film Spectre, and then hours
later the long awaited confirmation after months of rumour that
Benedict Cumberbatch will be joining the Marvel cinematic universe
as the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Stephen Strange. By the end of the
month, both Martin and Benedict were back in cinemas (though
arguably, not quite as much as we would have liked) in the action
packed final instalment of The Hobbit Trilogy, The Battle of the Five
Armies.

2014 then started and ended in gigantic fashion for Sherlock
fans. 2015 looks to bring us full circle once again, with the start
of filming on the next instalment of Sherlock on January 6 2015. At
present, we can't actually say whether or not we'll have seen this
new episode by this time next year (we're saying its hugely likely)
but the time for feverish anticipation is once again upon us -
though it's debatable of course whether it truly ever goes
away!

From Team Sherlockology - Jules, Emma, Leif and David -
a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!